Cobbetts predicts AIM market boom
The public markets team at law firm Cobbetts is predicting a sharp rise in the number of companies seeking a listing after advising on seven AIM transactions in the first quarter of 2010 and helping clients raise more than £75m. The firm says the number of companies delisting from AIM declined significantly in the first three months of 2010, with just 44 leaving the market compared with 73 in the first quarter of 2009. Additionally, 16 companies were admitted to the market in the first quarter of this year, compared with just five in the same period of 2009. Charles Bond, corporate partner at Cobbetts in Birmingham, said: “While AIM saw a notable downturn in admissions throughout 2009, the outlook for 2010 and beyond is considerably more positive. Company valuations are slowly improving, investor appetite for new issues is growing and chief executives are more optimistic about their ability to raise funds. As 2010 progresses, we expect this optimism to manifest itself in a number of new admissions and funds raised on the market. After a tumultuous couple of years, it is extremely positive to see AIM being reconsidered by businesses.”
